All About Tile Repair and Tile Installation

TIME TO CLEAN THE BATHROOM TILES

Good morning Saturday, the day you clean your bathroom, right?  Oh well, you should clean the bathroom a least once every week.  But you just hate to clean the three tile walls inside the bath tub area, right?  It just doesn’t clean right, and your sick and tired of smelling the powerful cleaning chemical to clean all around the tub area, right?  Oh what a strong odor early in the morning, right?

SO WHAT IS BEST

What would you think about using clear vinegar, baking soda, and water to clean the tiles, caulk and grout in and around the bath tub area?  Can it work and is it effective?  The answer is yes!  Cleaning sprays contain chemicals that can darken grout and remove grout from the tiles in time.  Once grout is removed from the tiles, water can enter between the tiles causing damage to the backer board and the beginning of mold in time.  Also chemicals can leave a soapy film on the tiles which gives the tiles a dull look to it.  So remember, always wipe off excess water from the tiles after every shower or bath; the water mixed with your body oil and soap can leave a noticeable stain on the tiles.

WHY VINEGAR AND BAKING SODA?

Clear vinegar mixed with baking soda and water will clean your bathroom tiles, caulk and grout better and more effective in time and is safe for you and the environment.  This combination has no harmful chemicals and is cheaper to purchase than any cleaning sprays on the market.  First use a small stainless steel basin (or small plastic bucket) and fill with less than 1/2 water.  Add about a 1/4 cup of clear vinegar and 2 tablespoons of baking soda.  You will see the water bubbling up, this is normal when you add baking soda.  Gently use a soft brush with the mixture to clean the heavily stain grout line and discolored caulk around the tile/tub area.  You can use a sponge or cleaning rag with the mixture to clean the tiles and grout in all areas of the bathroom.  Repeat this procedure at least once of week and you will see a big difference in time.  If your bathroom grout and caulk is badly stain or in bad condition, you may have to call a tile-repair specialist to re-grout, re-caulk and clean your bathroom tiles.  If you are located in the New York City area, call me Nick The Tile Man @ 917 865-8693.

Newly installed ceramic floor tile in shower stall.

DO IT YOURSELF SHOWER FLOOR TILE REPAIR

Nick the Tile Man with his assistant Manuel installing porcelain floor tiles.

Choosing The Right Floor Tile

Choosing the right floor tile will make a big difference when you are repairing floor tile or installing floor tile. My favorite is porcelain floor tiles because it has durability, different sizes, different colors, and different texture. Some porcelain tiles have a marble look to it, some have a smooth surface and other tiles have a rough, non-slip finish. Porcelain tiles can be difficult to cut, I would recommend using a wet saw.

Ceramic floor tiles are good tiles for installing on the floor. Ceramic tiles also some in different sizes, colors and texture. Ceramic tiles can have a high glazed finish which will make it easy to clean but can be slippery when wet. Ceramic tiles are easier to install because they are lighter and cut easier on a wet saw or manual tile cutter.

Granite floor tiles are the most durable of all floor tiles. Granite tiles are usually 1/4 inch thick and heavier than most floor tiles. Granite is installed by butting each tile together leaving as little space (no space) as possible. Granite tile can be difficult to install. The surface must be level and you should use thin-set mortar made especially for install granite tiles. If you install granite tiles in the bathroom, I would recommend that you use a sealer on the granite tiles before you grout your granite tiles, always using a non-sanded grout for granite tiles. Granite tiles can be very pricey.

Marble tiles are less durable than granite tiles but the finish product after installation will be a beautiful glass-like finish that you can’t help but notice. Yes marble tile is perhaps the most beautiful of all tiles when installed properly. Like granite, marble tiles should have a sealer applied before you grout the tiles using a non-sanded grout. Marble tiles should be butted together leaving as little space (no space) as possible. Also you should use the thin-set mortar made especially for marble tiles. Like granite tiles, marble can be very pricey.

Preparing The Floor For Tile Installation

I am not a fan for installing tiles onto plywood floor or any wooden floors. It just doesn’t work and in time you always have a problem. Your floor tiles can crack or break as well as your grout cracking and removing from between the tiles. So preparing your floor is the key for successful tile installation. With today’s technology, you do not need a mud job to install floor tiles. Why would you want all that unnecessary weight resting on your house beams? In time all the weight will have some adverse effect on your house settling more than normal.

I like to use a cement board when installing floor tiles. But the foundation that is on the floor should be level. If it isn’t level, you should remove the plywood laying on the house beams and level the beams and re-installing the plywood. You want your foundation as level as possible!

Now you can install the cement boards and secure the boards using the special screws that are made especially for floor installation. Never use sheet rock screws, the heads will break in time which will cause your tiles to crack or break and the same goes with the grout. When done, you will have a good surface that is level for installing any floor tiles.

Before And After Tile Repair!

These bathroom tiles was repaired once before, very poor job that caused leaks.

Stop looking at your ugly bathroom. I can give you step by step process of removing old grout and mold and re-grout and re-caulk your bathroom tiles to make them look like the day they were installed!.

Why spend $$$$$ big money to remove and install a new bathroom when you can repair your present bathroom to look like new! Just call 918 865-8693 and ask for Nick the Tile Man. I will go to your home to see if we can clean up, re-grout, re-caulk and polish your old tiles to look new! Call me today @ 9 1 7 8 6 5 – 8 6 9 3 for an estimate. I will come to your house and explain in detail what procedure we will use to accomplish our task. You will be amazed how your old run-down bathroom can look almost like the day it was installed 40, 50, 60 years ago.

Damaged backer board was removed and new backer board installed and sealed. We removed the different colored tiles.

Not all bathroom can be clean up, re-grouted, re-caulk and tiles polished due to years of neglect, using bleach on tiles and grout, and tiles that crack or broken. But in many cases, we can removed tiles,clean and polish them, and change the backer board that is mildew, broken or missing. We re-install the tiles to make your bathroom look almost new (an in some cases like new) if the tiles didn’t bleach out, crack, or damaged by other means.

And here is the finished product. Note one color, no more two different color tiles.